--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot have policies that punish…" description: "\"We cannot have policies that punish people for taking action. Imagine the further harm it would have caused if the federal government banned civil righ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/rashida-tlaib-5463_action_we-cannot-have-policies-that-punish-peop_2390571.jpg" --- # We cannot have policies that punish people for taking… ![“We cannot have policies that punish people for taking action. Imagine the further harm it would have caused if the federal government banned civil rights leaders from boycotting buses in Montgomery, Alabama, or banning divestment from Apartheid South Africa.” quote by Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/rashida-tlaib-5463_action_we-cannot-have-policies-that-punish-peop_2390571.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/rashida-tlaib-5463_action_we-cannot-have-policies-that-punish-peop_2390571.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/rashida-tlaib-5463_action_we-cannot-have-policies-that-punish-peop_2390571.jpg) > “We cannot have policies that punish people for taking action. Imagine the further harm it would have caused if the federal government banned civil rights leaders from boycotting buses in Montgomery, Alabama, or banning divestment from Apartheid South Africa.” [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Policies that punish activism deter necessary social change and empower oppression. **In simple terms:** Punishing action harms progress. Key Takeaway Protect activists, avoid punitive laws. Themes civil rights activism government policy Mood defiant urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - protest movements - labor strikes - environmental campaigns - human rights advocacy Key Concepts social justice civil disobedience political repression Questions to Reflect On - How can laws balance activism with public order? - When does protest become a threat? A Different Perspective Punitive measures may be justified for public safety in extreme cases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Apartheid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartheid/) [Banning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banning/) [Boycotting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycotting-559020/) [Boycotting Buses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boycotting-buses-4345698/) [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Civil rights leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-leaders/) [Federal government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/federal-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Policies Punish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policies-punish-5953056/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Punish People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punish-people-1256477/) [Taking action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-action/) ## Related quotes > [When I was 16, the guest speaker was King. And I was completely overwhelmed because I had been studying nonviolence, talking about it, reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/when-i-was-16-the-guest-speaker-was-king-and-i-was-completely/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [I'm not boycotting 'Madden.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yg/i-m-not-boycotting-madden/) [YG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yg/) > [Disapproving and boycotting is the Quranic thing to do, whereas violence and threats are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-akyol/disapproving-and-boycotting-is-the-quranic-thing-to-do-whereas/) [Mustafa Akyol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-akyol/) > [Child labour may be distasteful to westerners, but does boycotting goods made with child labour improve or exacerbate the lot of third world children?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/child-labour-may-be-distasteful-to-westerners-but-does-boycotting/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [“This whole strike has turned into a way to fuck with people, Lissa," he snapped. "It was one thing when you were just boycotting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-keplinger/this-whole-strike-has-turned-into-a-way-to-fuck-with-people-lissa-he/) [Kody Keplinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kody-keplinger/) > [“Some start boycotting halal meat on cruelty grounds, as though there are varying degrees of acceptable animal death they'll withstand for the benefit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reni-eddo-lodge/some-start-boycotting-halal-meat-on-cruelty-grounds-as-though-there/) [Reni Eddo-Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reni-eddo-lodge/) > [The shutting out or boycotting of selected media cannot take place in Austria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/the-shutting-out-or-boycotting-of-selected-media-cannot-take-place-in/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [I'm boycotting Bastille Day because I'm still upset about France not supporting a war we were totally wrong about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-boycotting-bastille-day-because-i-m-still-upset-about-france-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ You \[Bill Maher\] seem to have done alright with your TV show... I mean, I don't get a sense... to the extent that they're… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-bill-maher-seem-to-have-done-alright-with-your-tv-show-i-mean-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Conservatives need to know how important it is to fill out the census. It is one of the only things our Constitution specifically asks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mchenry/conservatives-need-to-know-how-important-it-is-to-fill-out-the-census/) [Patrick McHenry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mchenry/) > [While the behavior of the Russian government, Putin and Putin punks are abhorrent, nothing will be changed by boycotting the Sochi Winter Games. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mixner/while-the-behavior-of-the-russian-government-putin-and-putin-punks/) [David Mixner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mixner/) > [Boycotting the referendum is a possible option ... because we believe that participating in the voting might be a useless act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saleh-al-mutlaq/boycotting-the-referendum-is-a-possible-option-because-we-believe/) [Saleh al-Mutlaq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saleh-al-mutlaq/) > [Strikes and boycotting are akin to war, and can be justified only on grounds analogous to those which justify war, viz., intolerable injustice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/strikes-and-boycotting-are-akin-to-war-and-can-be-justified-only-on/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [If you want to boycott Israel because of Palestine, I don't think you actually care, because you're also boycotting 2 million Muslim Palestinian Israelis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuseir-yassin/if-you-want-to-boycott-israel-because-of-palestine-i-don-t-think-you/) [Nuseir Yassin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuseir-yassin/) > [I think we brought to the world, the United States anyway, the whole idea of boycotting as a nonviolent tactic. I think we showed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-huerta/i-think-we-brought-to-the-world-the-united-states-anyway-the-whole/) [Dolores Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-huerta/) ## More by Rashida Tlaib > [Obviously, I am a member of Congress, and things that I say are elevated on a national level, and I understand that very clearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/obviously-i-am-a-member-of-congress-and-things-that-i-say-are/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [When we shift our public dollars away from our schools and city services and into company developments, it increases the root causes of poverty:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/when-we-shift-our-public-dollars-away-from-our-schools-and-city/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [We demand Congress access and publicly release Donald Trump's tax returns!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/we-demand-congress-access-and-publicly-release-donald-trump-s-tax/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [President Donald Trump is a direct and serious threat to our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/president-donald-trump-is-a-direct-and-serious-threat-to-our-country/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [You know, as a child of Palestinian immigrants, again, every corner of my district is a reminder of the civil rights movement, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/you-know-as-a-child-of-palestinian-immigrants-again-every-corner-of/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [I'm very proud to be Arab.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/i-m-very-proud-to-be-arab/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [We are valuable. Detroit and other neighboring communities are places to invest in, not rob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/we-are-valuable-detroit-and-other-neighboring-communities-are-places/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [I'm a member of the Michigan Democratic Party, a DSA member, member of the League of Women Voters, ACLU.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/i-m-a-member-of-the-michigan-democratic-party-a-dsa-member-member-of/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [I remember the different things that were happening to my family as we were getting situated and buying our first home in southwest Detroit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/i-remember-the-different-things-that-were-happening-to-my-family-as/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [I love being a mom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/i-love-being-a-mom/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [In 2017, Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, an Arizona sheriff who was ordered by a federal court to stop racially profiling and was convicted of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/in-2017-trump-pardoned-joe-arpaio-an-arizona-sheriff-who-was-ordered/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [In my case, I am always that odd candidate that doesn't look like everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/in-my-case-i-am-always-that-odd-candidate-that-doesn-t-look-like/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [Resources and money can change people's lives today, where legislation can take years - up to 10, 15 years sometimes before it really, really impacts people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/resources-and-money-can-change-people-s-lives-today-where-legislation/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [Southwest Detroit has been through hell (excuse my directness) with Matty Moroun, his Bridge Company, and all his fancy-named subsidiaries. From blighted homes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/southwest-detroit-has-been-through-hell-excuse-my-directness-with/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [I don't want our right to be able to speak and dissent to be taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/i-don-t-want-our-right-to-be-able-to-speak-and-dissent-to-be-taken/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) [Explore all 100 Rashida Tlaib quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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